A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) apparatus that performs parallel MRI (pMRI) may include an array of detectors. The array of detectors may be referred to as an array of coils. The pMRI apparatus may acquire signals from the array of detectors. The detectors may be arranged in a phased array of coils where individual coils in the phased array may have localized sensitivity. While the sensitivities of different coils are conceptually smooth over a field of view (FOV), actual image acquisitions may yield different results than that predicted by a theoretical design. Thus, reconstruction of a magnetic resonance (MR) image from signals acquired from a phased array of coils associated with a pMRI apparatus may depend on understanding the actual sensitivity and spatial encoding capabilities of a coil(s) during a pMRI session.
Spatial encoding capabilities of the members of the set of detectors may vary with respect to, for example, orientation to a projection direction. For example, a set of coils oriented perpendicular to a projection direction may produce a first spatial encoding capability. A set of coils oriented parallel to a projection direction may produce a second spatial encoding capability. Additionally, when coils are oriented at varying angles with respect to a projection direction varying spatial encoding capabilities may be available. Thus, pMRI performance may depend on the choice of a phase-encoding direction employed in an MRI session due to the effect on spatial encoding capabilities of members of a phased array of coils. This pMRI performance may be reflected, for example, in image reconstruction quality. Conventionally, selecting a phase-encoding direction in pMRI may not have occurred or may have been uninformed and thus may have produced sub-optimal results.